The Importance, Progress and Infl^tence 
of Rtt^7^al Ptirstdts. 



LECTURE 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



m m JlHViCi 



FITCHBURG, DECEMBER 2, 1873. 



Hon. MAESHALL P. WILDER. 



BOSTON: 

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS, 

Corner of Milk and Federal Streets. 

1874. 



The Importance, Progress and Infl^tence 
of Rtiral Pttrsitits. 



A 



LECTURE 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



kssucltselfe I'teie %mti t\ ||rictl!ife 



FITCHBURG, DECEMBER 2, 1873. 






Hon. MAESHALL Pr WILDER. 



BOSTON: 

WRIGHT & POTTER, STATE PRINTERS, 

Corner of Milk and Federal Streets. 

1874. 



^^«ri 






i\ -' 



LECTURE 



Mr. Chairman^ Ladies and Gentlemen: — I have accepted 
the iDvitation to address you this evening, not from the expec- 
tation of communicating much that is new, and even at the 
risk of repeating some thoughts that I may. have uttered on 
otlier occasions. But having been intimately associated with 
this Board at its organization, and lionored for so many years 
with a voice in its councils, I could not decline any service 
which it might be in my power to render. 

I have selected for the theme of my subject of this evening, 
the importance, progress and influence of rural pursuits. 
. I had not the pleasure to hear the lecture of Secretary Flint, 
and I fear I may travel over some of the ground which he has 
so ably surveyed. 

To enforce the itnportance of rural pursuits before this en- 
lightened audience, or to illustrate by an extended eulogium 
their benign influences in promoting the welfare of mankind, 
were almost like an attempt to prove that the sun imparts 
light and heat ; that his radiant beams cause the seed to ger- 
minate, the leaf to unfold, and the harvest to ripen. But as 
it is by line upon line and precept upon precept that we 
treasure up the lessons of experience, so let us again this 
evening contemplate the importance of agriculture, the value 
and progress of science as applied to this and other arts, and 
the happy and refining influences which flow from rural life. 
"Agriculture," said Washington, and it cannot be too often 
repeated, "is the most healthful, the most useful, and most 



honorable employment of man." "In the science of agricuW 
ture," said the late Dr. Hitchcock, "is involved a great 
principle which reaches through indefinite generations, and 
forms the basis of ail possible improvement, and the highest 
hopes of our race." Agriculture Avas the first employment, 
and has ever been the most important given to man. Before 
the furnace had melted the ore, or the anvil had forged the 
ax, before the woodman had felled a tree or built a hut, 
before the waters had propelled a wheel or the white-winged 
messenger of commerce had spread its sails, "God planted 
a garden in Eden," and commanded man "to dress and keep 
it." And when by his disobedience he was sent forth as a 
wanderer in the earth, " to till the ground from whence he 
was taken," he carried wnth him the Divine decree, "in the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread until thou return unto 
the ground." Such were the absolute commands, and such the 
primary conditions upon which must ever depend the suste- 
nance, of the whole human family. Yes, my friends, blot out 
the productions of the earth for a single month, and our race • 
would become extinct. "To till the ground from whence 
thou wert taken," as a means of subsistence, and "to eat 
bread in the sweat of thy face," were the merciful mandates 
which have echoed in the ears of all past generations, and 
which will continue to reverberate through the ages of all com- 
ing time. This universal demand for daily bread must be 
satisfied with the rising of every sun, or the pulse of life 
would cease to beat. 

"This cry, with never ceasing sound, 
CiiTles creation's ample round." 

On former occasions I have alluded to the astounding results 
which have been developed by the progress of science and 
civilization during the present century. In no previous age 
have the energies of the world been so concentrated in efforts 
to economize time, increase power, multiply the comforts 



and elevate the condition of mankind. The adventurous 
spirit of modern times has brought forth discoveries and in- 
ventions equally remarkable in all the departments of life. 
No project is too great, no enterprise too gran,d for the spirit 
of the age. How remarkaljle the scale of development ! 
How wonderful the genius of man ! How sublime the con- 
quest of mind ! 

Before entering more fully into the subject of which I am 
to speak this evening, let us for a moment contemplate some 
of the events which have transpired in our own age. Many 
are now living who can remember the time when not a loom 
was propelled by water, not an engine driven by steam, not 
an iron rail or a telegraph wire, not a reaper or mower, 
in all our broad land. Some here remember the time when 
there was not a steam-engine in all New England, not a pound 
of anthracite coal used for fire or furnace, not a steamboat 
traversing the waters of this continent. It is only about 
eighty-five years since John Fitch, of Philadelphia, first ap- 
plied steam to his boat, the "Perseverance," on the Delaware 
River, — the first attempt in America to use steam for naviga- 
tion, predicting with the foresight of a prophet, as he did in 
his letter to Benjamin Franklin, that the power of this agent 
would ultimately navigate the rivers, lakes and oceans of the 
world. 

How marvellous the power developed by steam ! Man 
places a ton of coal in an improved Corliss engine, and it 
produces for industry the labor which requires three hundred 
and sixty-five days of a strong man ; and it is stated on author- 
ity, that the power developed by coal imported into Massachu- 
setts accomplishes more for industry than could be done if all 
the forty millions of men, women and children of the United 
States should devote themselves to manual labor, and that the 
machinery moved by coal in Great Britain, equals the man-power 
of all the inhabitants of the globe. Suppress the use of steam,. 



this modern motive-power which moves the machinery of the 
world, and it would consign the better half of all its industries 
to the grave ; annihilate this almost omnipotent force", and the 
shades of night Avould shroud with an eternal eclipse half of 
the glories of modern civilization. But what shall we say of 
the printing-pi*ess, that tremendous agent for good or evil, — 
the press which iu' the days of our Franklin could only pro- 
duce with wearisome toil a few hundred newspapers per day, 
when compared with the mighty steam-press, throwing off with 
almost the velocity of light, hundreds of thousands in a day, 
and scattering them like leaves of the forest at almost every 
hamlet in our land. Nor can I fail to allude, in this connec- 
tion, to some of the astonishing improvements which have 
taken place in the present century, in the manufacture of 
textile fabrics, for which this county of Middlesex is so 
justly renowned. The old spinning-wheels and hand-looms 
of our youthful days, working with toil and treadle to produce 
a few yards of cloth per day, have been supplanted by the 
magnificent machinery of gigantic mills, like those of Lowell 
and Lawrence, turning out their miles of cloth per day, and 
rivalling in power, production and competition the manufac- 
turing cities of the. Old World. 

Human pursuits are so intimately connected with each 
other, that an improvement in one tends to the advancement 
of them all. Hence the rwal arts have been equally bene- 
fited with other callings by the discoveries of science, and 
the application of skill. How wonderful the improvements 
in labor-saving machines as applied to the arts of husbandry ! 
Some of us remember following the old wooden plough. 
This has ])een exchanged for the model iron and steel 
plough, suited to hill and dale, and to all soils and situations ; 
and, still more strange, for the steam-plough, rolling over its 
numerous furrows at once, and performing the work of days 
in an hour, and ere long to become the great engine for the 



West. The old scythe and sickle of our fathers, hanging, 
like harps upon the willows, have given place to the improved 
mowers and reapers, sweeping down their ten acres per day, 
or to the great Western harvester, moving over the broad 
prairie like a triumphal car, cutting, gathering and storing 
twenty acres per day. The old noisy flail, pummelling out 
only a few bushels per day, has yielded to the mighty 
thresher, travelling from field to field, shelling, cleaning and 
running into bags hundreds of bushels of grain per day. But 
I must not prolong this train of thought, nor can I even enu- 
merate the multitude of labor-saving implements which the 
genius of man has invented for the relief of toil in our own 
time. 

I must not, however, omit to mention the great improve- 
ment which has taken place in our horses, cattle, sheep and 
swine ; in their classification, adaptation to various soils, mar- 
kets, and uses. 

It is less than eighty years since the introduction of the 
Shorthorn breed of cattle. Now, witness the fine herds of Mr. 
Whitman and others. To such perfection has the Duchess 
strain been bred , that at a sale lately made in the State of New 
York, one cow, the Duchess of Geneva, brought forty thou- 
sand dollars, her calf of five mouths twenty-seven thousand dol- 
lars, the whole herd of one hundred and eight animals realizing 
three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, or over three thousand 
dollars per head. Witness, also, the improvement which has 
taken place in other breeds, in the same or a less period of 
time ; in the Ayrshires, as seen in the splendid herds of Bir- 
nie, Sturtevant, Miles, and others ; in the Jerseys of Bur- 
nett (carrying ofi" all the prizes at the late New York Exhibi- 
tion), Bowditch, and Adams of a hundred head. The fine 
Kerrys of Mr. Grinnell, of Greenfield, and last though least 
in size, the beautiful Brittanies, imported by our Secretary 
Flint, so useful for small families and limited grounds. Sim- 



8 

ilar advances have taken place in the improvement of other 
animals, especially the horse, as in the studs of General Rus- 
sell, David Nevins, Joseph H. Billings, and others, some of 
which, for stock purposes, corresponding with the highest 
prices for cattle. 

Nor should I forget to allude to the vast area of our cereal 
crops, rightly termed the exhaustless granary of the world, 
and ui)on w^hich the nations of Europe are mainly dependent 
to make up the deficiency of their crops, England demanding 
a hundred million and France fifty million bushels for the 
present year. How would our Pilgrim Fathers have re- 
joiced, when rendering special thanks to the God of harvests 
for their annual crop of twenty bushels of corn, six bushels of 
oats and pease, could they, with prophetic eye, have seen the 
thousand million of bushels in our annual crop, a crop of 
grain sufficient to give a bushel each to every man, woman 
and child on the face of the globe. Nor would I omit to men- 
tion the mountainous piles of cotton, without which for a single 
year, the commercial world would be stricken with, dismay. 
Why, it is not a hundred years 'since the first five bales of 
cotton exported to Liverpool were seized as a contraband ar- 
tfble in the belief that no such product as cotton could be 
grown on American soil, a product that now reaches the 
wondrous amount of sixteen hundred millions of pounds, and 
produces an income of three hundred millions of dollars an- 
nually. 

And have you ever, my friends, duly considered the advan- 
tages and privileges which exist at the present day as com- 
pared with olden times ? It is only about ninety years since 
the first agricultural society was established on this continent. 
Your own Middlesex Society, one of the oldest in the State, 
dates back to only 1794. It is only about twenty yeiivs since 
this Board of Agriculture, one of the first in this country, 
was formed. It is only about twenty years since the first Ag- 



9 

ricultiiral College of our Union was formed. Now, the ma- 
jority of our States have colleges and Boards of agriculture. 
And so numerous have agricultural, horticultural and kin- 
dred institutions become, that they may be counted by the 
thousand. Let me also mention in this connection, the knowl- 
edge which has been acquired in the arts of hybridization 
and cross-fertilization, by which numerous and valuable vari- 
eties of grains, vegetables, fruits and flowers have been pro- 
duced. Within our own recollection, the process was but 
imperfectly known or practised. Now, to such perfection 
has this art arrived, that every year produces new and supe- 
rior sorts, which are alike renowned for excellence in the best 
European catalogues. 

Let me also allude to the amazing progress of fruit culture 
during the last half of this century. In this pursuit, Massa- 
chusetts has been a pioneer and leader, and from whence ema- 
nated, primarily, much of the enterprise which has spread 
throughout our land. Fifty years ago the list of fruits was 
limited to a very few varieties, which were mostly confined to 
the gardens and orchards of the opulent and wealthy. Then, 
with a few exceptions, the fruits were of a common or ordi- 
nary quality. Now, we have collections of the apple and pear 
consisting of hundreds of varieties, many of which possess 
all the characteristics of a first-rate fruit, and instead of here 
and there an orchard on the Atlantic and a few varieties for 
the summer season, we now have thousands of orchards and 
gardens with fruits adapted to every section of our country, 
and fruit for almost every month in the year. Then, the culti- 
vation of the grape had received scarcely any attention, except 
its culture under glass. It is not fifty years since the Isabella 
and Catawba were brought to notice. Now, we have numer- 
ous varieties raised from seed, and hundreds of vineyards 
scattered all over our land. And so great have been the im- 
provements in packing, and the facilities of transportation, 

2 



10 

that our markets are supplied with this delicious fruit, even 
to the winter months. Nor is this all : the juice of the grape, 
the manufacture of wine, has not only become an article of 
commerce, but rivals in quality, and finds a market in, the old 
Avine countries of Europe. What would INIr. Longworth, of 
Cincinnati, the great pioneer in American wine culture, have 
said, when planting the cuttings of the Catawba and Isabella 
grapes in 1829, if he could have foreseen that the cultivation 
of the grape would at this time have been extended through 
twenty-five degrees of latitude, and from ocean to ocean ; 
that European varieties, without the aid of glass, would be 
grown in California with as much ease as in the most favored 
portions of the globe ; that the grape would be as common in 
our markets as the apple, and sometimes sold almost at as 
low a price ; that the products of wine would exceed ten mil- 
lions of gallons annually ; that a sale of champagne wine to 
the amount of forty thousand dollars should be made for ex- 
portation to the wine regions of Europe ; and still more re- 
markable, that this wine, the Great Western, of the Pleasant 
Valley Wine Company, should bear off, triumphantly, a first 
prize for champagne wines, at the World's Great Exhibition 
in Vienna the present year. 

Nor is this progress more wonderful than the improvement 
and advancement which has taken place in the cultivation of 
our small fruits. Then, with the exception of two or three 
varieties of the strawberry, raspberry, and the blackberry, 
we were confined to the wild species of the hedge-row and 
the field. It is but about forty years since Mr. Hovey, of 
Cambridge, raised the first American variety of the strawberry 
from seed. Now, numerous local varieties, adapted to all 
sections, make their appearance every year, and so universal 
has this fruit, become as an article for general use, and so great 
the improvement in packing and the facilities for interchange 
of products, that our Northern markets are supplied, instead 



11 

of a few weeks, as formerly, with this delicious fruit, from 
May to August. So extensive has its cultivation become, 
that from single railroad stations in several of our States 
have been dispatched a thousand or more bushels per day for 
market. In districts where no attention had been given to the 
cultivation of this fruit twenty years ago, millions of baskets 
are sold in addition to what is consumed at home. 

Nor can we omit the peach, of which such astonishing' 
quantities are sent to the market daily from the Southern, 
Western and Middle States, especially to New York city, 
which receives on some days from the various railroads and 
steamboats an aggregate of about a hundred thousand bush- 
els, and all this in addition to the immense quantities canned 
and distributed to all portions of the globe. 

When I reflect upon the rapid progress of American Pom- 
ology in my own day, and its salutary influence on the health 
and happiness of mankind, the more grateful am I to those 
benevolent men who opened the way for this new era which 
distinguishes the fruit culture of our country. How grateful 
to the feelings of all who have worked with us in this prog- 
ress, is the prospect which opens to us in the great future of 
our country ! How would Governor Wiuthrop have rejoiced, 
when planting his pippin on our harbor island ; Peregrine 
White, when planting his apple-tree at Plymouth ; William 
Blaqkstone, when planting his orchard on Boston Common ; 
Governor Endicott, when planting his pear-tree, which still 
survives, at Salem, could they have foreseen the influence of 
their example multiplied into the thousands of orchards, and 
the millions upon millions of fruits which arc produced in 
our country ! And how would the pioneers of the Massa- 
chusetts Horticultural Society have exulted, could they have 
had a vision of the unrivalled exhibitions made at its annual 
shows, and especially at the late national display in Boston 
by the American Pomological Society, rivalling in variety, 



12 

extent and excellence, it is believed, tiny Avhich has been 
made by other nations, — where States which had not culti- 
vated a fruit-tree sixteen years ago, received the highest 
prize for apples ! 

One of the most gratifying evidences of progress and re- 
finement, is the general love and appreciation of fruits and 
flowers. These have been too often considered as the mere 
superfluities of life, but the more we are brought into com- 
munion with them, the more shall we realize those pure and 
refined sensations which inspire the soul with love and devo- 
tion to Him who clothes the fields with a radiance, to which 
Solomon in all his glory could only aspire. 

The cultivation of the garden, the ornamental planting of 
our grounds, and the general use of flowers affbrd striking 
proof of the high state of civilization which marks the prog- 
ress of the present age. Within our own recollection the 
use of flowers at funerals was deemed improper, nor was 
their appearance in the sanctuary greeted with pleasure. They 
were thought to be inconsistent with the proprieties of divine 
worship, as diverting the mind, and detracting from the 
solemnities of the occasion. God was not seen in flowers, in 
the rose, or the lily of the valley. From the lovely forms 
and various hues of flowers, the glories and joys of the gar- 
den, the royal psalmist has derived some of the highest types 
of inspiration, the artist some of his finest conceptions of 
grace and beauty. We cannot therefore too highly or grate- 
fully appreciate that divine wisdom and benevolence which 
has surrounded us with these manifestations of His perfection 
and glory, these beautiful creations, — 

" Mingled and made by love, to one great end." 

How delightful is the pleasure of communing with those 
lovely objects nourished and cherished by your own care, and 
which you almost imagine to be susceptible to your sympathy 



13 

and love ! "The garden," said Lord Bacon, "is the purest 
of human pleasures ; it is the greatest refreshment to the 
spirit of man ; without which, buildings and palaces are but 
gross handiworks ; and a man shall ever see, that, when ages 
grow to civility and elegancy, men come to build stately, 
sooner than to garden finely ; as if gardening were the greater 
perfection." "Nothing" said the immortal Webster, "is too 
polished to see its beauty, nothing too refined to be capable 
of its enjoyment." So thought the king of Israel when he 
made for himself gardens and orchards. So thought the noble 
Scipio when he retired to his favorite retreat after he had 
made Rome the mistress of the world. So thought our own 
Pickering, Lowell, Dearborn, and thousands of others in our 
own time, who have retired from the busy haunts of the city 
to the quiet scenes of rural life, that they might enjoy the rich 
gifts of bounteous nature, and drink from those pure fountains 
of contentment and peace. And may I not add what ex- 
perience has taught me of the sacred influences of rural life 
to soothe and comfort in those hours of depression, sickness 
and sorrow, from which none are exempt. Here, then, amidst 
fruits and flowers, and scenes of rural bliss, let my remaining, 
days be passed, and at last, like fruit fully ripe, dropping softly 
on the bosom of mother earth, let me lie down to rest in the 
joyous Iiope of a glorious immortality in the garden of the 
Lord, where the tree of life beareth fruit every month, where 
blight, disease, and the wintry blast of death shall never 
come, where the summer of glory and perfection shall for- 
ever reim. 

Some of the most touching and beautiful, some of the most 
sacred and sublime inspirations of Scripture have been drawn 
from scenes in the garden. Nor has the imagination of the 
poet, philosopher, or psalmist, ever conceived of any spot 
more chastening, more refining or more hallowed in its 
influence. 



14 

" Though in heaven the trees 
Of life, ambrosial fruitage bear, and vines 
Yield nectar ; though from off the boughs, each morn 
We brush mellifluous dews ; j^et God hath here 
Varied his bounty so with new delights, 
As may compare with heaven." 

In 110 department of cultivation is improvement of taste to 
be more distinctly seen, than in the decoration of our grounds 
and the universal love of trees and plants. Many in this 
assembly can remember the time when there were but few 
greenhouses in New England, and these were almost entirely 
confined to our retired and wealthy citizens. Now, these plant- 
structures are to be seen in almost all our populous towns and 
villages, and so much has the taste and demand for plants and 
flowers increased, that many arc devoted to special culture of 
the rose, the violet, or some other plant. Nor is this taste 
confined to the rich or middling class. Now, almost every 
dwelling has its grape-vine or fruit-tree, its woodbine, scarlet- 
runner or morning glory. Even window-gardening has be- 
come a science, and few are so poor Avhose home may not be 
lit up Avith the cheering influence of a plant or flower, whose 
•windows may not become more hallowed by the sweet influ- 
ences of nature's bloom, than by the gaudy pageant-pane 
which perpetuates the name of a saint, — perhaps a sinner too. 
And I confess my heart has often been touched with tender- 
ness and sympathy when I have seen 'the poor laborer, after a 
hard day's Avork, carrying under his arm a rose or geranium 
to cheer and solace the wife and Aveans at home. These 
are the outer manifestations of the soul for that fairer and 
better clime Avhere floAvers shall never fade, the secret yearn- 
ings for that paradise beyond the skies which shall never be 
lost again. 

I have spoken freely of the chastening influence of rural 
pursuits ; but before I close, alloAv me to allude again to 
flowers ; to those symbols of all that is pure, lovely and beauti- 



15 

ful, — those golden stars, that like the dew-drops of morning, 
sparkle on the bosom of mother earth. Flowers are the very 
embodiment of beauty ; flowers are like angel spirits minister- 
ing to" the finest sensibilities of our nature, often inspiring us 
with thoughts, which, like the unexpressed prayer, lie too 
deep for utterance. God speaks by flowers and plants and 
trees, as well as by the lips of his prephets and priests. So 
felt Bacon, who desired always to have flowers Ijefore him 
when exploring the mysteries of that divine philosophy 
which has made his name immortal. Flowers have a language, 
and like the starry firmament above, proclaim His handiwork 
and glory. God has imprinted a language on every leaf that 
flutters in the Ijreeze, on every flower that unfolds its virgin 
bosom to the sun, teaching us the great lesson of his wisdom, 
perfection and glory. How beautifully does the English bard 
express this sentiment, — 

"Your voiceless lips, O flowers, are living preachers; 
Each cup a pulpit, and each leaf a book." 

Who would not listen to their teachings ! How intimately 
do they enter into our joys and aflfections ! Who would not 
live with them forever ! With what tenderness and afiection 
does Milton describe the sorrow of our mother Eve when 
bidding farewell to her flowers in Eden, — . 

" O flowers 
That never will in other climate grow, 
My early visitation, and my last 
At even, which I bred up with tender hand 
From the first opening bud, and gave ye names, 
Who now shall rear ye to the sun, or rank 
Your tribes, and water from the ambrosial fount ? " 

Aad here let me recognize the refining and chastening in- 
fluence of woman, which so signally characterizes the prog- 
ress of civilization, and the finer arts of modern times. 
This is especially to be seen in her interest for the cultivation 
of fruits and flowers, and the adornment of " sweet, sweet 



16 

home." It is but a few years since woman was permitted to 
grace the festive board of our agricultural and horticultural 
exhibitions. Now, no occasion of this kind is deemed com- 
plete without her presence. Former^ our tables were sur- 
rounded only with the .stalks of humanity; now they are 
adorned Avith the flowers of female loveliness, not "born to 
blush unseen." Nor is this all ; she is now among our most 
successful cultivators, training with tenderness and care 
plants as delicate as her own person. Welcome woman, then, 
we say, to these festal occasions, to the grounds Ave cultivate, 
to our gardens and greenhouses, to all the beauties of nature 
and the pleasures of art, and to a paradise regained on earth. 
Another strong evidence of the progress of refined taste 
and culture is seen in the establishment of our cemeteries, 
and the improvement of our burying-grounds. These once 
neglected and gloomy resting-places of the dead, casting ter- 
ror and horror on the minds of children and youth, are fast 
giving way to the shady retreats and sylvan scenes of the 
Avood and forest. Where formerly decaying grass, tangled 
weeds, and moss-covered tablets were generally to be seen, 
now may be witnessed beautiful sites, natural scenery and 
embellished lots, which awaken sensations that no lano-uao-e 
can describe, where the meandering path wends you to the 
spot in Avhich rest the remains of the loved and lost of earth, 
where the rusthng pine mournfully sighs in the passing 
breeze, the willow weeps in responsive grief, and where the 
verdurous evergreen, breathing in perennial life, is a fit em- 
blem of those celestial fields, Avhere the leaf shall never 
Avither, the floAver never fade, and fruition never end. 

I have thus spoken to you, my friends, in a manner jvhich 
I hope may not l^e considered as inappropriate or irrelevant 
to the mission of this Board. My object has been to re- 
cord some of the important events AA'hich mark the progress 
of our age, — to illustrate the advantages which flow from sci- 



17 

entific knowledge as connected with the genins and enter- 
prise of man, — to awaken and excite a love for rural life and 
rural pursuits, and to show that the present is an advance 
on the past in all that pertains to a higher state of civiliza- 
tion and the welfare of our race. 

And now, in conclusion, let me say, I know of no better 
temjDoral acquisition than a happy rural home, — a home where 
you may sit amid the fruiting of your trees and the blooming 
of your plants, — a home embellished by your own taste, and 
endeared by pleasures shared in common with the loved ones 
of your family — a happy country home,. with trees and fruits 
and flowers, where you may find enjoyment, not in hungry 
greed for gold, not in the conflicts for political distinction, 
not in the strife for place, power or renown. For more than 
fifty years I have trod the crowded marts of trade and com- 
merce. I have shared in the privileges and perplexities of 
public service, and I have enjoyed the soul-reviving sympa- 
thy of family and friends, l)ut I have never forgotten my first 
love for rural life. Oh, no ; whenever I could rescue a little 
time from the cares of business, — whether at rosy morn, golden 
noon or declining day, I have fled to the garden and green- 
house, to my favorite trees and plants, that I might commune 
and cooperate with nature in her secret laboratory of wonder- 
working power. This is my idea of a happy, rural home ; 
and this my idea of a happy man, — he who is contented with 
fruits and flowers reared by his own care, with congenial 
friends, and a good conscience towards God and his fel- 
low-men. And it has ever appeared to me that contentment 
and happiness w^ere easily to be acquired by all who really 
love the cultivation of these lovely objects. And let me add, 
that I know of no more grateful, and I was about to say, de- 
votional feelings, than those which we enjoy at the close of 
a quiet Sabbath summer day, when with wife and children we 
stroll along the l)ordered flowery walks, or sit in sweet con- 
3 



18 

verse under the umbrageous trees your hands have planted, 
just as the declinhig sun is fringing the horizon with rosy 
promise of a fairer to-morrow, and parting day is ushering 
universal nature to repose. 

I have spoken thus freely of the benign influences of rural 
life and rural pursuits, for I have ever believed that an inti- 
mate relation exists between the beautiful, and things which 
are morally good ; I trust therefore that my friends with whom 
I have labored so long, will pardon me for the allusions to my- 
self. From my early years I have been fond of contemplat- 
ins the glorious works of creation and Providence. I love 
the sublime as well as the beautiful in nature. I love to hear 
the thunder roll its treble diapason through the skies. I love 
to see the lightning "flash its liery gleam from pole to pole, 
and I delight to muse with nature in her more tranquil and 
enchanting scenes of rural bliss. I love the genial spring, 
filling the heart with joys renewed, and hopes of abundant 
harvest ; the golden summer, marshalling its gorgeous retinue 
of successive glories ; the mellow autumn, pouring from her 
horn of plenty the ripened treasures of the year. And espe- 
cially do I love to be associated with the members of this 
Board in efibrts to improve and increase the products of the 
earth, — something to promote the comfort, happiness, and 
welfare of my fellow-men, — something that shall live when 
we are dead. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



002 743 981 



